BUDCL and BUFCL bring BracU together through futsal

Brac University recently concluded its first-ever inter-department futsal tournament on January 7th, organized by the Football Club of Brac University (FCBU), marking a major milestone in the institute’s sporting journey. The two-week tournament featured the Brac University Departmental Champions League (BUDCL), which included 32 teams in the men’s category, and the Brac University Female Champions League (BUFCL), comprising 6 teams in the women’s category, collectively delivering a thrilling display of talent overall.

Both finals ended with narrow 1-0 victories. FC Barcelona, led by captain Zinnia Nahid (Sophomore, CSE), emerged as the winner in the BUFCL against AC Milan. Despite limited practice time owing to academics, strong teamwork and defensive coordination secured FC Barcelona the win. In BUDCL, Juventus, with Mohammad Jawad Faisal (Senior, BBS) as the captain, claimed the title. Jawad attributed the success of his team to the effort the team put in from the beginning, saying, “They gave a lot of effort in the group stage match, then semi-final, the quarter-final, everywhere.”

The tournament fulfilled its primary objective of bringing the university together beyond academics. Many highlighted the importance of the event, noting that it helped discover talented players for the central university team and created opportunities for students to interact through sports. Dr. David Dowland (Registrar, BracU) emphasized that the new football pitch would be a game-changer for campus life. He said he hoped to see these tournaments grow in the future and stressed the necessity to keep the competitive spirit and promote the teams to compete well in external competitions.

Despite challenges such as limited budgets and sponsorship constraints caused by political uncertainty, the BUFC successfully organized the tournament through collective effort. One of the main organizers, Asraful Alam Rafin (Senior, BBS) expressed his happiness for the success of the event, stating, “This feels like a winter football festival, so we are really grateful for that.” Despite the challenges, he organizers added that the positive response to the tournament has encouraged them to plan more events like this in the future.